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Post by rs on Jun 22, 2015 8:58:45 GMT -8
I have been wondering about this, because we had such good luck with our "unsaleable" gerbils, the ones that were given to us by the pet store because they couldn't be sold. Pirate Mommy was born with one eye, and Jenny was a runt, and would have been considered problematic even without the loss of her tail before we got her. I'm not talking about health problems that would make survival miserable for the gerbils themselves, but rather these clearly defective, yet not particularly handicapping, problems. (We were told that Jenny had been kept separate because her tank-mates were picking on her, and we kept her separate permanently. But she did fine on her own in her own tank near the others.)
We weren't trying to breed any gerbils at all, and these would have been, of course, obstacles to ownership for a breeder. However, what DO breeders do with their runts and other disabled-but-okay-otherwise litter members? Or, for that matter, what about ones that have coloring or markings or body shape that don't make the cut?
I have wondered about this type of situation ever since I read, many years ago, that some Manx cats are born with partial or even, occasionally, full tails. It was mentioned in an article about the Isle of Man, but no information was given about what happens to those Manx with tails. So I guess this situation can arise when any kind of characteristic-specific breeding is involved.
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Post by betty on Jun 22, 2015 9:11:50 GMT -8
Good question.
Every breeder and every species is different (for example mice fancy breeders tend to cull nearly all their pups even if they have no health issues, they usually only want a maximum of 3 pups per litter).
More likely with gerbil breeders, we home all those who don't make the look our other traits we are after (we want to keep the best ones for further breeding), we keep all the ones who have bits missing (and make a note of these things to help improve our lines further) unless someone specifically wants to home them; and we will pts any who won't have a decent gerbil life out are in pain (as if we don't think they will have a decent life, why would we put them through that?).
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Post by Thelodar on Jun 22, 2015 9:18:41 GMT -8
My guess is each breeder does it differently. For minor things they can probably still sell them, perhaps at a reduced price or for free. If the gerbil can still behave and live completely normally. Same with undesirable colors and the like, just sell them as pets...just like breeders of show dogs, just because they aren't good enough to breed doesn't mean they won't make great pets. This is what I would hope happens to manx cats born with a full tail, they simply go to a pet home with someone who doesn't love the breed for it's lack of tail. Although I think with Manx cats you could still get tailless cats from one full tailed parent if it's a heterozygote, so they could still be used in the breeding program.
With more severe deformities where the gerbil will require extra care they likely either euthanize or keep them for life, depending on what's best for animal and their personal moral opinion on the matter.
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Post by Shooting Star on Jun 23, 2015 2:47:54 GMT -8
I suppose I could organize pups into four categories.
1. Pups that are breeding and/or show quality. These I usually keep myself or home with other breeders.
2. Pups that are not breeding/show quality, but have nothing wrong otherwise. These are offered for adoption.
3. Pups that are "defective", but should still have good quality of life (missing limb, mild/moderate seizures, fixed wrist, head tilt, blind/deaf, etc.). These are offered for adoption as "special needs" (with a reduced adoption fee).
4. Pups with problems preventing a decent quality of life. These are kept if I think they may recover and move into category 3, or euthanized if there is no hope. For example, young "double-amputees" are in this category, if they've been attacked and lost multiple paws/limbs. Some will recover and adapt; others, unfortunately, will not. Those that adapt are bumped up to category 3; those that go downhill are euthanized.
ALL pups in categories 1-3 are guaranteed a home here if for any reason they are not placed elsewhere. As you can imagine, this policy means I have a lot of gerbils, lol. I think any decent breeder will be constantly working towards maximizing the percentage of pups in category 1, and minimizing the percentage of pups in categories 3 & 4.
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